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Paying it forward...

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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

that's what this sweet 11 year old announced monday would be...
a beautiful day.
she dressed herself in anticipation of the day before mom exited her pillow.

it was filled with running errands.
and her long awaited music guild.

"nervous-excited."
10 short memorized pieces.
just her...
and the judge.
a poised young lady.
complements and manners.

her imitation of the statue of liberty.
she wants to see it one day.
and go to washington, d.c.
as much as she wants to go to disney world.
proud parents.

dad made it home in time to come along with us.
then we headed to the airport to drop him off.
it twas a little house on the prairie evening for the little ladies and myself.

dad should be back this evening.
crossing fingers.
we are taking the week off of school.
except for reading and math.

the house needs to recover from the garage sale.
we're calling this week "operation clean-up."
with a splash of re-decorating.

and there's lots of dance hoopla to get ready for.
and family coming in town.
yea!

now...
if only i could stay off of ebay.
garage sale money went toward an early christmas gift for nator.samantha. a retired american girl doll.
with 3 outfits and all her books.
we're not above 'slightly used' items.

{i'm hoping to find an awesome deal on kirsten.
another one of nator's faves.
maybe felicity and elizabeth, too.
for gracie.
i have high hopes, yes?}

shhhhhhhhh...

the day she sees it will be another...
beautiful. day.

*giddy*

i'm off to spray-paint anything that's sitting still.
these kiddos better get a move-on! ;)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

we picked hubs up from the airport on friday... sandwiched between gracie's hip hop class and preparing for a garage sale.

i know. i never thought i'd have another one. it turns out when you procrastinate long enough... well, eventually you'll end up with too much to haul to the salvation army. no worries, though. my mom-wagon is loaded with left-overs for the cause.

where was i again? oh... yes, hubs.

he keeps quite the schedule. i know that i was not built for his schedule. i do well to keep up with the one i have. and although we gals like to do things, we long for the stay-at-home days the most...

most days.

hubs. he was taking a business call at midnight last night. my heart doesn't skip a beat with middle-of-the-night calls anymore since he's been in this line of work. it's just par for the course. tech-savvy jobs are always on call.

don't get me wrong. having a tech-savvy husband has its perks, too. i know who to call if there's a glitch. he's usually great about not making me feel completely silly if the solution was something obvious. umm... to him, that is. ;)

i've informed him that he's in charge of teaching gracie's guitar lessons and all computer courses. you know, since i'm in charge of teaching them how to read, write, solve equations, learn from history, the function of dendrites, and the everyday daily grind. ;)

he works hard, but squeezes in quality time as best he can. like here. he taught gracie the g chord before leaving out of town. she was oh-so-proud to show nator and me all week. sweet girl.

we are all looking forward to the next lesson. you know... another chord. ehem.

just excuse the glowing bella eyes and piles of mess. soak in the tender moment instead.

we do sort of a tag-team garage sale. mama organizes and prices. dad works the sale. he's much better at saying good-bye to our things. they're just things, i know. hubs has to remind me that we're not selling the memories. see? he's much better at this.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

our girlie nights vary from week to week... or night, depending. distraction is key. with the number of nights hubs has been out of town on business, mama needed to think of something...

ahhh... spa night!

too bad hubs missed out on this one. in our ancient history lesson today, we learned that in india it was a sign of manhood and bravery for boys to have painted nails. maybe that could have convinced hubs to join us? then again... maybe not.

the girls were so excited. truthfully, i was a lil' pumped about it, too.

it twas a very busy day, indeed.

thankfully, i had already determined that morning that it didn't matter how messy the house was by the end of the day. when it was spa time, mama was going to ignore all that had not been accomplished. i mean... the overloaded checklist is not going anywhere, right?

truthfully, we did manage to get a lot done today. no matter what the house looked like. it was time to kick our heels up.

sometimes... life demands us to take note of the fact that we need to giggle more.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Being married to a busy guy can have its challenges. Lately, hubs has spent a lot of time going back and forth to Dallas due to a big project he's working on. Last week, we had little family time together due to working overtime while he was in town. We do what we can. And Sunday, we made another trip to the airport. *sigh* Girl movie nights anyone?

We {as in, the girls and I} seldom {if ever} get work-related perks. I'm not complaining. Really. In this economy, we're thankful he has a job. It's just life. Life, for us, goes on as normal. Schooling, laundry, taking out the trash, running to the store, cooking meals, watering the lawn {texas drought}, miscellaneous errands, and even killing my own bugs.

*shivers*

There's not a ton of time off for hubs, but I know that if something came up, his boss would be understanding. There's something to be said for that. Don't get me wrong. He loves his job and co-workers. There's something to be said for that, too.

However, this past Saturday, we were gifted with baseball tickets. Yea! A perk! A baseball game is one of our favorite things.

Long story short, they were gifted to us from a co-worker of hubs who needed computer work done. And these were not just any ol' tickets. These were DIAMOND CLUB tickets! Crazy, right?!

Four. rows. behind. home. plate!

Hubs said this was on his bucket list. I quickly wrote it on mine and checked it off.

We should seriously make one of these lists. Have yew-awl? Can't help myself. We do live in the south, you know.

Things we will remember:

'free' parking.

really close.

the field, within arm's reach... as we walked out of the {seemingly underground} tunnel toward our section.

pence #9, on nator's t-shirt.

trying to 'play it cool', as if we were not the only ones who've never sat in the 'rich people' section.

then feeling relieved upon hearing the row behind us gasp at the novelty of diamond club, too.

'free' peanuts.

'free' water, with service.

really. they kept bringing it to us.

cold. and wrapped in a napkin.

'free' frozen treats in a lil' freezer.

nice restrooms.

a cool, cozy lounge for dining.

'free' buffet.

first time to eat a yummy, salmon salad at a ball game.

on a real dish.

seeing the players so close.

almost becoming famous... on tv.

only if the camera had panned a little more toward the right.

korean war veterans.

hearing the star spangled banner.

teaching the girls the etiquette of removing their hats.

even if we are girls.

johnson bobble-head giveaway.

several homeruns.

and the Astros win!!

The only thing that would have made this better?? If any of the Bush family had been there. Seated 4 rows in front of us, where they normally sit. What an honor that would have been. We've been studying our presidents, you know.

Come to think of it, Nator said it right when she leaned over to me during the game... "I hope Daddy's friend has computer problems again."

We're re-adding this event back to our bucket list. Who says it can't happen again? ;)Hmmm... What else should I add to my list? What's on yours?

Nator: "do history and science and (sometimes) watch movies together."

Gracie: "play games, spend time with each other."

I love my mom because....

Nator: "she is my mom and she's AWESOME!"

Gracie: "I love her and she's my mom."

Her favorite thing to do to relax...

Nator: "take a long nap."

Gracie: "lay down and be calm."

My mom always says...

Nator: "I love you."

Gracie: "Well do you want to go to school? or I love you."

My mom teaches me how to...

Nator: "do EVERYThing."

Gracie: "be smart and make good choices."

My favorite thing that Mom cooks is...

Nator: "lasanyah and tostadas."

Gracie: "Nachos."

What are mothers made out of?

Nator: "A lot of good stuff and love (and a heart, lungs, a brain...)."

Gracie: "love."

What's the difference between moms and dads?

Nator: "Moms are girls and (some) go through labor."

Gracie: "Moms are girls and dads are boys."

My mom helps me when...

Nator: "we are doing crafts."

Gracie: "I'm sick and school."

My favorite thing to do with my mom is...

Nator: "watch movies, snuggle, and crafts."

Gracie: "play with her."

The best advice my mom has given me is...

Nator: "stay healthy so you can live a long life."

Gracie: "that she thinks that I'll be the best person ever."

My mom doesn't like...

Nator: "repeating things."

Gracie: "me argueing with my sister. 100% true."

My mom's favorite color is...

Nator: "red."

Gracie: "red."

If my mom had a day off, she would spend it...

Nator: "shopping or sleeping."

Gracie: "she would get on the computer."

My favorite place to go with my mom is...

Nator: "the LEGO store."

Gracie: "Justice or Build a bear or really anywhere."

What has your mom taught you about God?

Nator: "that He is always in our heart."

Gracie: "alot of stuff."

The funniest thing Mom ever did was...

Nator: "crazy dance in the kitchen."

Gracie: "crazy danceing."

What would it take to make your mom perfect?

Nator: "NOTHING!!!"

Gracie: "get off the computer... and no school."

{insert mom laughter}

If you could give your mom anything for Mother's Day,

what would it be?

Nator: "love. because all you need is love."

Gracie: "a spa day."

Closing remarks:

Nator: "I love you very much."

Gracie: " I love you. God made my mom 100,000,000% special. :)"

**********************************************************

mother's day was a wonderful day of no agenda.

and having hubby home.

he made us breakfast, gifted me with a beautiful "i love you" willow tree, and crosses 'from the girls.' grilled lunch. then we decided to hit the beach... again.

without having made prior arrangements for jasmine, she got a nice splash of sand and salt water, too. but mostly, she wondered why she was the only dog on a leash. {that would be because we are responsible pet owners.} thankfully, the temperature was still beautiful.

the waves were less choppy this weekend, but the seaweed was a bit much. it kept spooking us every time it touched our legs in large batches under the murky waves. *shivers*

with sandy feet and dog in tow, we headed home just in time for showers and bed!

they are looking forward to the next date night.
almost as much as the parents.
mama shopping for a swimsuit.
she would rather clean.
oh... and a few beach essentials.
pack for beach.
drive to beach.
murky water.
who cared.
perfect temperature.
windy.
very windy.
the kind of wind that won't allow one to keep their beach hats on.
or umbrellas.

the best fun.
*sigh*
a short-lived {flying penguins of madagascar} kite.
laughs.
sandcastles.
daddy builds a moat.
a little sibling rivalry over said moat.

a flock of seagulls hoping to get nine year old's cheddar bunnies.
nine year old hiding behind mom and dad in fear.
mom swinging a bag at swarm of said seagulls.
*giggle*
collecting seashells.

'clean up' with water bottles.
*giggle*
a favorite cafe'.
the best of times.
a mom would repeat this for a mother's day weekend...
but her husband has been out of town for the past two weeks.
except for said trip to the beach.
he's also at a conference today...
close to home.

besides...
one may or may not *still* have sand in their shorts.
laundry calls.
must get it done before mother's day!
a mama needs a day off!

**********************************************************

for the past 2 years, hubs has been out of town on mother's day.

this year, he gets to spend it with us.

yay!

what are your plans on mother's day?

what did you want this year {you know, other than simply being with family}?